End to Liverpool transfer saga in sight

The Uruguayan was ready to apologise to manager Brendan Rodgers for upsetting the Northern Irishman in his pursuit for a transfer to Arsenal.

But Suarez was unsure in the way he would be received by Rodgers, until the Reds skipper offered to accompany the forward to the manager’s office. Gerrard’s presence was a sign to the Liverpool boss that Suarez has been accepted back into the first team, and that everyone can continue as normal.

Suarez, who is still suspended for five more matches, is now training with the first team once more, after being forced to work alone until he had made his apology. But with Gerrard’s intervention, the forward was welcomed back to the squad, and was seen at Anfield with his daughter ahead of the Reds’ victory over Stoke on Saturday.

New defender Kolo Toure has defended the club’s stance over Suarez, but has assured fans that no player has an issue with the forward.

“Luis Suarez was defending what he wanted, the club was defending what they wanted,” Toure said.

“I believe what the club did is right. We all wanted him to stay. It’s no problem having Luis back. We love him. We all just wanted him to resolve his problem with the manager, come back and score our goals.

“The manager is very clever and has sorted it out with him. We are all really happy that Luis is back training with us.”

Liverpool face Aston Villa on Saturday, with Suarez still forced to watch from the stands.